“Careful,” he said with a grin as I regained my balance.
I gave him a grateful smile, feeling myself blush. “Thanks. You just saved Bruno's life, I would have probably crushed him if I'd fallen down the stairs.”
Jared chuckled, shaking his head. “You're thanking me for saving your dog? What about yourself?”
I smiled sheepishly and shrugged. I really hadn't thought about it.
His eyes darted to my black high heels. “How can you even walk in these things?”
“Desperation. My tips would probably drop by half if I wore flats, or anything but a miniskirt.” But now that he’d mentioned my shoes, the pain in my ankles and toes returned with full force.
He stared at his watch and his eyes widened a fraction. “I'm running late,” he said more to himself than to me before he gave me an apologetic smile. “Amy should be home any minute now. I’m sure she’d love to have some female company. I’ll be gone until the morning.”
I smiled and waved him good-bye as he hurried down the steps, his dark locks disappearing from my view. Maybe I'd pay Amy a visit later. She would certainly want to know about my encounter with Adrian this morning. On the other hand, I should probably go to bed early. It didn’t happen very often that I had an early shift in the bar and was home before ten. I wasn’t sure how much long I could bear working at Jack’s.
I ascended the remaining steps and crossed the corridor before unlocking my door. Bruno wiggled in my arms and I set him down. He ran toward the kitchen as if the devil was after him; expecting to be fed as usual. For a moment, I stood in the doorframe, the yellowish light from the corridors spilling into my small apartment. I considered turning around and leaving New York for good. Maybe I could be happy somewhere else, find a nice guy, get a college degree, become a vet like my dad. I shook my head, pushed the switch and stepped inside. I followed Bruno into the kitchen and gave him some dog food before preparing myself a salad. I'd eaten so many cookies today, more than a salad was out of the question for dinner. If I kept eating dinner so late, I’d probably start gaining weight soon.
The silence in my apartment was starting to weigh down on me and I knew I had to do something about it. I grabbed my mobile and dialed my parents’ number, hoping they weren’t already in bed. After a moment my father picked up and his deep voice rang out, sounding drowsy. “Clark.”
Guilt shot through me. “Hello dad, did I wake you?” I was happy to hear his voice again. I hadn’t called in too long, from fear of the questions that always came. Do you have a boyfriend? Have you sold a book? A short story? Why don’t you come home?
“Nora! And don’t worry, I fell asleep in front of the TV again, so it’s a good thing you woke me. Your mom hates it if I don’t come to bed.” He sounded happy and relieved, and my smile widened. “Has anything happened?” His tone turned worried.
“I'm fine, dad. I just wanted to hear your voice,” I said softly, realizing how pathetic that sounded. “So how's it going? Is mom already asleep?”
“Yes, she went to bed a couple of hours ago. She had a glass of red wine with her dinner, and you know it always makes her tired.”
I leaned back in the kitchen chair and listened to Dad's story about his fishing trip. Apparently he'd been quite successful and our freezer was stored to the brim with fish.
Dad paused and cleared his throat nervously and I knew he had something to say that I wouldn't like. “Chris asked me to send you his greetings and he said...” Dad hesitated and I dreaded what else he had to say. “Well, he said he's missing you.”
I groaned and closed my eyes, shaking my head. Why couldn't Chris leave me alone? We'd gone out twice and I was still haunted by nightmares because of it. “I hope you didn't tell him that I miss him, too.”
Dad laughed. “No, no. I didn't really know what to say to him. The boy is odd.”
I grinned. “He is.”
“He isn't bothering you anymore, is he?”
“No, dad. You don't need to run him over with your car or anything.”
“Tell me if you change your mind.”
My grin widened even more and I relaxed further. I told Dad about my newest manuscript and about Amy. I knew better than to mention the bar. It would only lead to an argument and I simply couldn’t stomach that right now.
I also chose to leave out my encounters with Adrian and my habit of spying on him, since I didn't want Dad to freak out. He'd probably suffer from a cardiac arrest if I told him about it, and then Mom would tell me that her worst fears about the 'dangerous' city had come true. Mom and Dad had never been fond of New York and would probably try to talk me into returning home if they found out how bad my situation really was at the moment.